Lia Purpura, Parasol Mushroom (detail), featured in AGNI 102
Fuckery
A year or two ago
I drove my car
to one of the half-dozen
places I go and a spider
on my windshield lasted
all the way from curb
to corner to intersection
to highway to parking lot
and later when I returned
after doing one of the handful
of things I do on any given day
the spider was gone
moved forever from here
to there
place to place world
to world universe
to universe You understand
I could go on like this
hour to hour day to day
beginning to end
Hayan Charara
Hayan Charara is the author of four books of poetry, most recently These Trees, Those Leaves, This Flower, That Fruit (Milkweed Editions, 2022). He has also written a children’s book, The Three Lucys (Lee & Low, 2016), and a novel, Hush Little Children (Flexible Press, 2025). Born in Detroit, he lived in New York City for many years before moving to Texas, where he is a professor in the Honors College and creative writing program at the University of Houston. (updated 12/2025)